


the ocean's floor, emotions in the air

by fleetingly



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 07:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15383460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleetingly/pseuds/fleetingly
Summary: The wind whipped, the waves rose, and Tyler was rolling rocking and crashing in the roiling sea.





	the ocean's floor, emotions in the air

**Author's Note:**

> cleaned up from [my original post on tumblr](http://rustandfinedust.tumblr.com/post/174375157350/boltsau-pally-the-merman-rescues-a-shipwrecked) for [this prompt](https://boltsau.tumblr.com/post/173941671569/pally-the-merman-rescues-a-shipwrecked-tyler-and) on boltsau. title from "hear me now" by bad wolves ft. diamante.

Tyler has been out on the water plenty of times by himself, in all sorts of weather, so looking at the radar for the waves that could get pretty gnarly didn't scare him off. The fact that he had the foresight to look at Reese and her big silly paws and her perfect lifesaver vest and think, “nope, not on this trip” probably should have clued him in that something was going to go wrong. 

Tyler knew better than to go against his intuition. 

As his boat veered closer to the shoal of rocks, Tyler spared a thought that at least his dog won’t die out here with him. The waves came up harder and faster than the radar said–weather was never a perfect science–and the GIS system had either glitched or Tyler hadn’t done all the measurements right. Tyler had a sprained ankle from a violently flapping sheet that had come up out of nowhere, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

 

It didn’t matter. The boat was going to crash.

 

What a fucking day, Tyler thought. If he could survive the crashing waves on the craggy barest hints of rock, the water temperature would kill him next. He hadn’t planned for any diving excursions for what he thought would be a nice--if challenging--day on the water.

He judged the rocks all right, his ankle only protesting some about the physical action, but entering the water was shocking. It was cold, angry, and punishing. The wind whipped, the waves rose, and Tyler was rolling rocking and crashing in the roiling sea.

–

 

Ondrej peered down at the man cradled half on the ledge and half on his arm. Ondrej had previously been sitting on the ledge, too, with the man’s head resting on his tail, but the man was taking too long to wake up and Ondrej needed to refresh his scales. Human men should be awake by now, Ondrej thought and the longer he went without waking, the more difficult Ondrej’s options–if any–would be.

Ondrej sensed Kuch in the water next to him. Well, this could get interesting. Kuch was not one in the community who advocated for human or human companions; he wasn’t militant about it, like some of the Elders, but still, Kuch was skeptical at best.

Ondrej didn’t know exactly what was right, but he knew he didn’t want anyone to die, and if he could do something to help someone not suffer, well, Ondrej wasn’t going to hesitate. Yes, the Rules were in place for a reason, but one lone man couldn’t possibly have destruction on his mind. Maybe Ondrej was foolish and naive, but he couldn’t watch the man suffer.

Kuch dragged a flipper down Ondrej’s tail, a clear “let’s talk”signal. Kuch was a Shifter, and while he could communicate with Ondrej while his ears were above water, he preferred not to Shift from his leopard seal form if he could help it. Considering there was a stranger in their midst, Kuch’s reluctance made sense. 

But, even without this instance, Kuch was still hesitant to Shift. Ondrej didn’t quite get it, and even once he got his Legs, he probably still wouldn’t quite get what Kuch meant. It was hard to tell if this was just one of the differences between Shifters and Mer, or one of the differences between everyone else and Kuch. 

Ondrej looked at the human man again, making sure he was fully up on the highest rock, out of the water. It was a tight fit, this man was fairly small for some of the other humans Ondrej had heard and seen in the wild, but the rocks were smaller still. Of all the rocky outcroppings this human had to stumble upon, it had to be the tiny one of Ondrej’s Community. 

Ensuring the mangled ankle was fully out of the water, Ondrej submerged into the welcoming wet of his home. Well, the whole Ocean was his home, but this was his neighborhood. This water would always call to him stronger and brighter than any other in the Ocean.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kuch said, the moment Ondrej was submerged and eye level. Ondrej knew he was speaking, because he knew Kuch, but it had been disconcerting at first when he met his best friend because Shifter’s speak telepathically in animal form. 

Granted, considering how neutral Kuch sounded, Ondrej didn’t really want those rows of intimidating teeth to be open in his face right now. Kuch didn’t get loud or thrash when he was angry; he merely dove deep and became cold.

“This man crashed on our rocks, I thought I would investigate.”

“Considering this man has been unconscious, I’m amazed he was able to climb on the rocks all by himself,” Kuch said.

Ondrej flushed in shame, and then anger for he had no cause to be guilty. “This man was dying, and I could help a soul live to enjoy the Ocean for a few more days, so yes, I helped him upon the rocks,” Ondrej said sharply.

Kuch’s flippers jerked, angry. “You don’t know all the facts! What if he had sent a distress signal and there’s rescuers on the way now, and your mere presence and actions will lead Man to dive deeper than they ever have before?”

“Disregarding the fact that I know our Rules just as well as you do because we were in the same classes together, and you know I know about the Secrecy Clauses, I already checked for a message or distress call on his boat,” Ondrej pointed to the mangled pieces of the human man’s boat perilously near sinking, “and there were none. The man was alone, his manifest said he was supposed to be 20km south west, and he was going to drown. So, again, yes, I helped him on the rocks.”

Kuch had clearly been embarrassed by Ondrej calling him out on the Rules dig; Kuch and Ondrej had been in the same classes, save their special electives, and Ondrej had gleefully beaten Kuch in top marks for the Underwater Community - Rules and Policies course. From the way he was drifting, Ondrej could tell some of the fight had gone out of Kuch, and then it hit Ondrej like a smack in the gills.

Kuch had once helped a human man and he had once tried to bring him in to the Community, and he had been soundly, heartily, denied. Vladdy had been lost on a jet ski far from his cruise ship, and he and Kuch had gotten very close. Ondrej hadn’t known for sure what Kuch had felt for the man, for Vladdy, but he knew now from the emptiness radiating in Kuch’s mind that it couldn’t only have been love.

“Nik, I’m sorry–” and before Ondrej could say any more, Kuch’s eyes widened and there was a splash behind Ondrej that could only mean–

The human man was awake and thrashing in the water, so at least one of those things were good.

Ondrej pumped his tail strongly to grasp the man and put him back on the rocks, or just to keep him from thrashing and possibly hurting himself. The man struggled, but Ondrej easily overpowered him. Ondrej kept himself carefully halfway in the water so his tail would hopefully be hidden from view. “Hello,” he said calmly.

The man stared at Ondrej, not once looking away from Ondrej’s face. “You, you! You saved me…” he trailed off.

Ondrej smiled. “My name is Ondrej.”

“Tyler,” the man said faintly. And then he pointed over Ondrej’s left shoulder and grabbed Ondrej to pull him closer. “No, look out!”

Ondrej was startled and couldn’t help the motion pushing him closer and more out of the water. He looked to his left and bit back a groan; Kuch had poked his head out of the water, still as a Leopard Seal, one of the most terrifying animals known to Man, so of course Tyler was worried.

A very small part of Ondrej knew that he would remember this moment for the rest of his life. It was a split second to decide, but Ondrej was in deep for this man, and he wouldn’t lie or hide. It was like something in the current had brought him here to this wreck, to this moment, to Tyler.

“No, it’s okay,” Ondrej said softly. 

Tyler looked wildly at him and then at Kuch, and then back to Ondrej and Ondrej knew, he just knew, Tyler had seen...something in the water. Tyler’s eyes were wide.

“...Ondrej?” Tyler trailed off. His hand was still on Ondrej’s shoulder and Ondrej couldn’t move away even if he wanted to.

 

“It’s okay, Tyler, you’re okay.”

Tyler didn't look away from Ondrej’s face. “Do you know there’s a leopard seal right next to you?”

Ondrej deliberately looked behind at Kuch, lurking with his head above just barely above water about 10 feet away. Kuch was facially hard to read even when he wasn't in Seal form, but he wasn't interfering, so, well--

“Yeah, that’s my friend,” Ondrej said.

Tyler’s eyes got wider, and he blinked quickly several times. “Okay. That’s--okay,” he paused, then, “Do you have a tail, Ondrej?”

“Yes,” Ondrej smiled. “I’m a Merman.”

Tyler smiled back. "That is _awesome._ "

Kuch's snort was audible. No matter what came next, Ondrej knew he made the right decision saving Tyler.

\---

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://rustandfinedust.tumblr.com)


End file.
